European stocks rose today, Wednesday, thanks to positive hints contained in yesterday’s statements by US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, as well as strong business results from energy and chemical companies.
The pan-European STOXX 600 ended up 0.3% after pulling back from a 9-month high hit earlier in the session as other US central bank policies looked more hawkish.
Powell’s comments on Tuesday, in which he again referred to the “lower inflation” operation, were interpreted as less hawkish than feared by markets still reeling from the shock of Friday’s unexpectedly strong U.S. jobs data, Reuters reported.
The energy sector, which rose 1.7%, was the most profitable in Europe, helped by Finnish refiner Neste’s 10.6% rise and Norwegian oil and gas company Equinor’s 6.8% rise following its fourth-quarter earnings announcement.
Positive business results led to a 1.2% increase in shares of the chemical industry.
